ON A CRASH COURSE OF DESTRUCTION
Damon drove the Humvee across the decayed road that ran through the desert. The skies were clear and the sun delivered an immense amount of heat. Dawn had been used to the heat; being a desert dweller her entire life. Whether Damon really was a synth or not, she still found a good ally. She taught him how to fight and he brought new life into her. But how could Damon help her as he promised? Could he turn back time and make the invasion never happen? That would be one way he could help her.
"Just a few more miles," Damon informed.
He looked over at her and then looked at the road ahead.
"You okay?" He asked.
Dawn was leaning against the window.
"Yeah," she muttered.
"What's wrong?" He urged.
"Nothing."
"It's me, right? Me being a synth."
"I already told you, I'm okay with it."
"Be honest."
"I am being honest. I didn't run. I'm still here."
"Right."
"I just never met a synth before. Maddie had a theory about their existence, but I never believed her. Years ago, she told me there was a factory or a plant of some sort, that she found inhabited by synths."
"Let me guess, the gen 1's. They know all about them."
"Who's they?"
"The Institute. They were test subjects. Failed subjects."
"What if you end up like them?"
"Not a gen 3. I was created for one purpose; to survive in a post-nuclear scenario."
"Looks like you're doing a great job."
"All thanks to you."
Damon drove the desert camo Humvee across the empty highway as Dawn sat next to him. All she had on was a pair of torn jeans, tan boots, and a ripped tank top. Out in the distance was the Mojave Desert. The stimpaks has recovered her injuries from the encounter with the Outcasts. Then, Dawn looked in the sideview mirror and saw three bikers behind them.
"Those assholes are back," she warned.
Dawn got her .45 ready as Damon increased the acceleration as the bikers gained on them. One of them took out a shotgun and fired at the Humvee. Damon swerved, but was able to regain control.
"Keep it steady!" Dawn instructed.
She leaned out the window and shot back. The bikers moved to the other side. Dawn got out of her seat and opened the hatch.
"Dawn, what the hell are you doing?" Damon asked.
Even she was aware this was not a smart move, but realized she had no choice. They had a whole arsenal of weapons and she only had a .45 with limited ammo. She looked up at the blue sky and stood up with half her body outside. She shot at the bikers, but they swerved and shot back at her. The bullets struck the Humvee. Damon was startled.
"You okay?" He asked with concern.
Instead of answering, Dawn fired back. One of the bullets struck the gas tank of the motorcycle, causing fuel to leak out. The bike caught fire and crashed. The remaining bikers shot at her causing Dawn to duck down and fall to the floorboard. Damon quickly turned to her. He felt relieved when he saw she wasn't hit.
"Dawn! You scared the shit out of me," he said.
"Just keep…lookout!"
Damon saw he was about to hit a crashed truck. He swerved away.
"Keep your eyes on the road," she demanded.
"Right," he agreed, "Up until my head gets blown off."
Dawn reloaded her .45 and stood up through the hatch. In quick succession, she shot one biker, knocking him off and sending him rolling on the ground. Then, she shot the remaining bike in the tires, causing it to crash. The Humvee pulled away from the motorcycles. Dawn sat back down to catch her breath.
The Humvee drove down the desert road, passing by a ghost town that was destroyed by radiation. There were also more abandoned buildings and a gas station nearby. Then, Damon saw another Humvee behind them.
"Here they come," he warned.
Dawn got up and stood up through the hatch. One mercenary had a missile launcher and fired at them.
"Move right!" Dawn yelled.
Damon steered to the right as the missile exploded on the ground. They fired another shot. Damon swerved as the missile exploded behind them. Dawn shot back at them. The mercenary with the missile launcher ducked back into the Humvee as her bullets bounced off the vehicle
"It's an armored vehicle," Damon pointed out.
"Don't worry, I have an idea," Dawn said as she got ready to return fire.
Dawn waited for them to fire another missile. Using accurate aim, she shot the oncoming missile which exploded near their Humvee.
"Try it again you assholes," Dawn muttered to herself
The mercenary shot a missile at them. Dawn reacted quickly and shot the missile again. This time, it exploded, causing the Humvee to explode and be engulfed in flames. Damon drove down the road, leaving the flaming wreckage behind them. Dawn sat back down.
"Whoa! Dawn, you wrecked them real good," Damon praised.
"Yeah, I got this gut feeling that's not all they sent after us."
"Just shoot 'em as they come."
"I'm almost out of ammo."
Then, Damon saw a large military truck approaching them.
"You ain't kiddin'," Damon said.
When Dawn turned around, she saw the vehicle along with three more motorcycles. Damon drove faster, but the thundering sound of the motorcycles became louder. Dawn shot at the oncoming motorcycles, but the drivers moved to the side. Damon saw two motorcycles behind him.
"Hang on!" Damon yelled.
He slowed down and the two motorcycles crashed into the Humvee. The last biker swerved and the jumped on the Humvee. Dawn aimed her gun, waiting for the biker to appear. When the biker appeared on the roof, Dawn shot him in the armor. The biker pointed a shotgun at her, but Dawn grabbed it and held it away from her. The gun discharged away from them. The biker grabbed her hair and pulled her up to the roof. He attempted to point the gun at her, but Dawn held it away from her. As they struggled, she managed to point the gun at him. He moved to the side before the shot was fired. The biker struck her with an elbow. She kicked him in the leg, but he used the shotgun to strike her in the stomach. She went down to one knee and he pointed the gun at her. She quickly took her knife out, stabbed him in the arm, and quickly grabbed the shotgun. With one pull of the trigger, he flew off the Humvee and landed on the hood on the military truck. The driver ignored the body as it rolled off onto the road. The driver of the truck rammed the Humvee causing Dawn to fall back inside. The driver rammed the Humvee again, knocking her near the dashboard.
"I'm going after them," she said.
"How?" Damon asked with a puzzled look.
Dawn exited through the hatch and used the shotgun to fire shots at the truck's window which was bulletproof. Then, mercenaries from the back of the vehicle began shooting at her. Dawn jumped off the Humvee and landed on the military truck. Damon saw her on the truck behind her.
"Dawn!" He yelled, and then mumbled, "You crazy bitch."
She got on the roof and in quick succession, shot the mercenaries. She jumped down onto the flatbed and shot two more mercenaries. One of them flew off the back and hit the pavement. One mercenary tackled her, causing the shotgun to slide off the truck. He dragged her near the edge. Dawn punched him in the stomach, but he had on a bullet proof vest. He tried to throw her off, but Dawn fought back. The mercenary grabbed a knife and tried to stab her. Dawn grabbed his arm and swung his arm around, using the knife to slice his throat causing blood to splatter on her. She tossed him off the truck. Dawn grabbed the assault rifles and ammo. Then, the truck rammed the Humvee, causing Dawn to fall.
Damon swerved to the side and slowed down, allowing the truck to pass him. He saw Dawn on the flatbed. Then, she jumped back onto the Humvee and crawled through the hatch despite her aching pain. Damon noticed the blood.
"What the hell happened?"
"Don't worry, the blood isn't mine," she informed.
The truck stopped in front of them, blocking their path. Damon hit the brakes and Dawn exited the Humvee. The driver shot at her, but Dawn used the Humvee as a shield. She shot back, but the driver moved behind the truck. She ran after him but found no one on the other side. Then, he dragged her under the truck and held her arms. The gap was large enough to fit them.
"Sweet lady you are," he whispered.
He laid on top of her with a knife to her throat. Dawn remained motionless. Then with a quick move, she struck him in the face with the back of her head. He dropped the knife and Dawn grabbed it. She tried to stab him, but he quickly crawled out. She went out the other side. The man appeared out of nowhere, but Dawn sliced the side of his cheek causing him to fall onto the truck. Then, Damon drove the Humvee forward. Dawn saw what was about to happen and backed away. He drove the Humvee straight into the mercenary, crushing him against the truck. Dawn got her .45 and the missile launcher and got back inside the Humvee.
"Nice driving," Dawn complimented.
They drove down the road. Along the way, they saw more desert and roads of ruin. Dawn felt exhausted and leaned back against the seat. Damon noticed the blood that was on Dawn's neck. He grabbed a small rag and wiped the blood off. Dawn looked at the blood and at Damon. She cracked a smile. Then, a vertibird flew behind them and followed the Humvee as it hovered in the sky. Suddenly, bullets struck the Humvee creating a loud pinging sound. They were both startled. Dawn looked behind her and saw the vertibird behind them and nearly at ground level. Dawn grabbed the missile launcher but the vertibird fired more bullets causing the Humvee to swerve. Dawn fell onto the floor as the missile launcher slid away.
"The Humvee won't hold up much longer!" Damon shouted.
Dawn reached for the missile launcher and quickly stood up through the opening. She fired a missile which struck the wing of the vertibird. It drifted back and off to the side. She realized there were only three missiles left and was out of range. Then, four more mercenaries on motorcycles arrived.
"Dawn…," Damon said with concern, "Hold on to something."
Dawn turned around and saw a crashed gas truck blocking the road. There was a steel ramp in front. The Humvee went on the ramp and launched in the air as motorcycles followed and flew into the air behind them. Dawn fired shots at them with her .45, taking out three of the bikers while still in the air. She shot the last bike in the gas tank, causing it to explode. The Humvee hit the ground and continued down the road.
"Nice shootin'!" Damon complimented.
The vertibird had returned.
"It ain't over yet," Dawn reminded him.
Dawn shot another missile, but the vertibird shot it out of the air. The vertibird returned fire, striking the Humvee with a hail of bullets. Then, the Humvee began to slow down. The rear tires blew out causing the wheels to create sparks on the pavement. Dawn shot another missile at the vertibird, this time striking the other wing. Smoke emitted from the vertibird, but it showed no signs of slowing down. The Humvee ran over a large hole and flipped on its side. Dawn ducked back in just in time. The vertibird flew past the crashed Humvee and turned back around.
"Damon?" Dawn asked while coughing from the smoke, "Are you okay?"
Damon waved the smoke away with his hands.
"Yeah, but the Humvee's had it. Is that damn thing still following us?"
He turned around and saw that Dawn was not there. Through the cracked windshield and the smoke, he saw her with the missile launcher. He quickly unhooked his seatbelt and exited through the door window which was now above him. He saw the vertibird in the distance coming towards them.
"Hide!" Damon shouted, "Let them think we're dead!"
"I can take it down."
Damon grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her against the Humvee. As the vertibird flew by, Damon helped Dawn to the other side.
"Now take it down," Damon instructed.
Dawn fired a missile, striking the vertibird which descended to the ground as heavy smoke blew out from the back. It crashed into the desert and exploded. Dawn tossed the missile launcher aside and kneeled to the ground, holding her arm. Damon put his arm around her and looked at the long desert road ahead.